Europe's Plastics in Medical Devices conference is coming to North America. The event — held three times since 2006 in Brussels, Belgium — will take place April 12-14 in Westlake, Ohio, near the Cleveland airport.
The conference, organized by Plastics News Global Group, will examine the design, development and production of Class I and Class II medical devices. The aim is to bring together all segments of the supply chain under one roof for two-plus days. Participants will include polymer and equipment suppliers, consultants, product designers, plastics processors, medical-device makers and pharmaceutical company end users.
The event begins April 12 with a pair of concurrent, afternoon workshops, followed by a 30-speaker conference program April 13-14.
The lineup includes officials from such organizations as AstraZeneca, Atek Plastics, Battelle, Cleveland Clinic, Frantz Medical Development Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Mack Molding Co., Nypro Healthcare, Parker Hannifin Corp., PMC LLC, and U.S. Endoscopy, along with a number of designers and suppliers.
One of the April 12 workshops will be an introduction to the medical devices market for plastics companies just beginning to explore what it takes to serve that demanding sector. Brenan Riehl, president and CEO of GW Plastics Inc., recently named PN's Processor of the Year, will tag-team with consultant Len Czuba in that session.
The other workshop, being staged in conjunction with Cleveland-based materials society ASM International, targets mechanical engineers who wish to learn about polymer considerations in medical-device design, specifically related to failure analysis of injection molded parts. Each four-hour workshop costs $395.
The conference costs $895, and a combination workshop/conference discount is available for $1,095.
While strictly a conference, the event also will feature more than 30 exhibits. Find program and sponsorship details at www.plas ticsinmedicaldevices.com.
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